2003 Top 50 List: Yes
Dan Collins List: Yes
Grant Hill played during my late teens when I probably watched more basketball that at any other time in my life. To me, he will always be the epitome of grace, style, and class on (and off) the basketball court, a kind of basketball version of Roger Federer.
His record, while superb, is perhaps not as good as I expected it to be. In his freshman and sophomore years, he was excellent, but clearly played a supporting role to Laettner and Hurley. He made second team All-ACC as a sophomore. In 1993, Laettner was gone, and Hill stepped up from 14 PPG to 18 PPG, without giving up much in terms of shooting percentage. That year statistically was his best – 18 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 steals (3rd in the ACC). But the key point is that Hurley was still around, so Hill was free on the offensive end to move without the ball, find open spots, and Hurley would find him.
With Hurley gone in 1994, Hill became the primary ball handler. His assists went up, his shooting percentage went down, and he became the focal point of opposing defenses. In addition, he became a three-point shooter. In his first three years, he attempted a total of 17 threes; as a senior, he went 39-for-100.
If you just look at his statistics, you might conclude that he slipped a bit in his senior year. But I think it’s a case where the statistics don’t tell the full story. The fact that he became the primary ball handler, and every possession went through him, and he didn’t have Hurley dropping dimes anymore, all of that has to be considered. In the big picture, he became the unquestioned leader of a team that, while talented, was less so than the 1991 and 1992 teams. His teammates were Cherokee Parks, Antonio Lang, Chris Collins, Jeff Capel, and Marty Clark. He took that team to the national championship game and within a hair’s breadth of winning it all. For his efforts, he was a First Team All-American.
Since 1993, there have been only 2 seasons in which an ACC player averaged 17+ points, 5+ assists, and 6+ rebounds: Hill in 1994, and Bob Sura in 1995.
The media have always had a minor obsession with Hill. As an example, I have a wonderful book called the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia, published in 2009. In that book, a panel of 19 college basketball experts including Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Andy Katz, and other well-known names selected the 50 best players in the history of college basketball. Hill was listed at number 33. He was the seventh ACC player listed, behind David Thompson, Christian Laettner, Ralph Sampson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, and Phil Ford. Later in the book, a Top Five for each school is selected. Hill is named to Duke’s team, along with Johnny Dawkins, Bobby Hurley, Laettner, and Art Heyman.
I love Grant Hill, but his record simply does not support those conclusions. I honestly have no idea how anyone could conclude that Grant Hill is the seventh-best player in ACC history. I have him as the ninth-best player – in Duke history. He had a very fine senior year, winning ACC Player of the Year, being named first team All-American, and leading the team to the national championship game. As a junior, he barely made first team All-ACC, edging out Sam Cassell by a few votes. He was a second/third team All-American that year. He was a major contributor but still a supporting player on the 1991 and 1992 championship teams.
That’s a heckuva player, a Top 25 player, but it’s not a Top 10 player. He wasn’t National Player of the Year and wasn’t close. He wasn’t a two-time ACC Player of the Year and wasn’t close. He wasn’t a two-time first team All-American and wasn’t close. He wasn’t Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament. He never did anything in the ACC Tournament, never making even first team All-Tournament. He didn’t blow you away with incredible numbers. The guys ahead of him on the list did those things. There’s just not enough there to be considered a Top 10, or even Top 20 in my opinion, caliber-player.